Drought and False Prophets

14 This is the
Lord’s message to Jeremiah
about the drought:* 2“The nation of
Judah cries for people
that have died.
The people in the cities of Judah
grow weaker and weaker.
Those people lie on the ground.
People in Jerusalem cry to God for help.
3The leaders of
the people send their servants
to get water.
The servants go to the water storage places,
but they don’t find any water.
The servants come back with empty jars.
So they are ashamed and embarrassed.
They cover their heads from shame.
4No person
prepares the ground for crops.* No rain falls on the land.
The farmers are depressed.
So they cover their heads from shame.
5Even the mother
deer in the field
leaves her newborn baby alone.
She does this because there is no grass.
6Wild donkeys
stand on the bare hills.
They sniff the wind like jackals.* But their eyes can’t find any food,
because there are no plants to eat.
7“We know that
those things are our fault.
We are now suffering because of our sins.
Lord, do something to help us for the
good of your name.
We admit that we left you many times.
We have sinned against you.
8God, you are the
Hope of Israel!
You save Israel in times of trouble.
But now it seems like you are
a stranger in the land.
It seems like you are a traveler that only
stays one night.
9You seem like a
man that has been
attacked by surprise.
You seem like a soldier that does not
have the power to save anyone.
But Lord, you are with us.
We are called by your name,
so don’t leave us without help!”
10This is what the
Lord says about the
people of Judah: “The people of Judah really
love to leave me. Those people don’t stop
themselves from leaving me. So now, the
Lord will not accept them. Now the Lord will
remember the bad things they do. The Lord
will punish them for their sins.”
11Then the Lord
said to me, “Jeremiah,
don’t pray for good things to happen to the
people of Judah. 12The
people of Judah might
begin to fast* {and
pray to me}.
But I will not
listen to their prayers. Even if they offer burnt
offerings and grain offerings to me, I will not
accept those people. I will destroy the people
of Judah with war. I will take away their food,
and the people of Judah will starve. And I will
destroy them with terrible diseases.” 13But I said to the
Lord, “Lord, my Master,
the prophets were telling the people something
different. They were telling the people of Judah,
‘You people will not suffer from an enemy’s
sword. You will never suffer from hunger. The
Lord will give you peace in this land.’”
14Then the Lord
said to me, “Jeremiah,
those prophets are preaching lies in my name.
I did not send those prophets. I did not
command them or speak to them. Those
prophets have been preaching false visions,
worthless magic, and their own wishful
thinking. 15So
this is what I say about the
prophets that are preaching in my name. I did
not send those prophets. Those prophets said,
‘No enemy with swords will ever attack this
country. There will never be hunger in this
land.’ Those prophets will die from hunger
and an enemy’s sword will kill them.
16And
the people those prophets spoke to will be
thrown into the streets. Those people will die
from hunger and from an enemy’s sword. No
person will be there to bury those people, or
their wives or their sons or daughters. I will
punish them.
17“Jeremiah, speak
this message
to the people of Judah:
‘My eyes are filled with tears.
I will cry night and day without stopping.
I will cry for my virgin daughter.* I will cry for my people.
Why? Because someone hit them
and crushed them.
They have been hurt very badly.
18If I go into the
country,
I see the people that were killed
with swords.
If I go into the city,
I see much sickness,
because the people have no food.
The priests and the prophets
have been taken away to a foreign land.’”
19“Lord, have you
completely rejected
the nation of Judah?
Lord, do you hate Zion*?
You hurt us so badly
that we can’t be made well again.
Why did you do that?
We were hoping for peace,
but nothing good has come.
We were hoping for a time of healing,
but only terror came.
20Lord, we know
that we are evil people.
We know that our ancestors* did bad things.
Yes, we sinned against you.
21Lord, for the
good of your name,
don’t push us away.
Don’t take away the honor
from your glorious throne.
Remember your Agreement* with us.
Don’t break that Agreement.
22Foreign idols
don’t have the power
to bring rain.
The sky does not have the power
to send showers of rain down.
You are our only hope.
You are the One who made all
these things.”

drought A time when no rain falls and the crops become dry
and die.
No person prepares the ground for crops Following the
ancient Greek translation. The Hebrew is hard to understand.
jackals A wild animal, like a dog. Those animals only live
where no people are.
fast Going without food for a special time of prayer and
worship. virgin
daughter This is another name for Jerusalem.
Zion The southeast part of the mountain Jerusalem is built
on.
Sometimes it means the people of God living in Jerusalem.
ancestors Literally, “fathers,” meaning a person’s parents,
grandparents, and all the people they are descended from.
Agreement Literally, “Proof.” The flat stones with the Ten
Commandments written on them were proof of the Agreement
between God and Israel.

15 The Lord said to
me, “Jeremiah, even if
Moses and Samuel were here to pray for
the people of Judah, I would not feel sorry for
these people. Send the people of Judah away
from me. Tell them to go.
2Those
people
might ask you, ‘Where will we go?’ You tell
them this: This is what the Lord says:
‘I have chosen some people to die.
Those people will die.
I have chosen some people
to be killed with swords.
Those people will be killed with swords.
I have chosen some people
to die from hunger.
Those people will die from hunger.
I have chosen some people
to be captured and carried
to a foreign country.
Those people will be prisoners in that
foreign country.
3I will send four
kinds of destroyers
against them.’
This message is from the Lord.
‘I will send the enemy with a sword to kill.
I will send the dogs to drag their
bodies away.
I will send birds of the air and wild animals
to eat and destroy their bodies.
4I will make the
people of Judah
an example of some terrible thing
for all the people on earth.
I will do this to the people of Judah
because of what Manasseh* did
in Jerusalem.
Manasseh was the son of King Hezekiah.
Manasseh was a king of Judah.’
5“No person will
feel sorry for you,
city of Jerusalem.
No person will be sad and cry for you.
No person will go out of his way
to even ask how you are!
6Jerusalem, you
left me.”
This message is from the Lord.
“Again and again you left me!
So I will punish and destroy you.
I am tired of holding back
your punishment.
7I will separate
the people of Judah
with my pitchfork.* I will scatter them at the city gates
of the land.
My people have not changed.
So I will destroy them.
I will take away their children.
8Many women will
lose their husbands.
There will be more widows
than there is sand in the sea.
I will bring a destroyer at noontime.
The destroyer will attack the mothers of the young men of Judah.
I will bring pain and fear
on the people of Judah.
I will make this happen very quickly.
9The enemy will
attack with swords
and kill the people.
They will kill the survivors* from Judah.
A woman might have seven sons,
{but they will all
die.}
She will cry and cry
until she becomes weak
and not able to breathe.
She will be upset and confused.
Her bright day will become dark
from sadness.”

Jeremiah Again Complains to God

10Mother, I (Jeremiah) am sorry
that you gave birth to me.
I am the person that must accuse
and criticize the whole land.
I have not loaned or borrowed anything.
But every person curses me.
11Truly, Lord, I
have served you well.
In time of troubles, I prayed to you
about my enemies.

God Answers Jeremiah

12“Jeremiah, you
know that no person
can shatter a piece of iron.
I mean the kind of iron
that is from the north.* And no person can shatter a piece of
bronze either.
13The people of
Judah have many treasures.
I will give those riches to other people.
Those other people will not have
to buy them.
{I will give those
riches to them.}
Why? Because Judah has many sins.
People sinned in every part of Judah
14People of Judah,
I will make you slaves
of your enemies.
You will be slaves in a land
that you never knew.
I am very angry.
My anger is like a hot fire,
and you will be burned.”
15Lord, you
understand me.
Remember me and take care of me.
People are hurting me.
Give those people the punishment
that they deserve.
You are being patient with those people.
But don’t destroy me
while you remain patient with them.
Think about me.
Think about the pain I suffer for you,
Lord.
16Your message
came to me
and I ate your words.
Your message made me very happy.
I was happy to be called by your name.
Your name is Lord All-Powerful.
17I never sat with
the crowd
as they laughed and had fun.
I sat by myself because of your
influence on me.
You filled me with anger
at the evil around me.
18I don’t
understand why I still hurt.
I don’t understand why my wound
is not cured and cannot be healed.
Lord, I think you have changed.
You are like a spring of water
that became dry.
You are like a spring
whose water has stopped flowing.
19Then, the Lord
said,
“Jeremiah, if you change
and come back to me,
then I will not punish you.
If you change and come back to me,
then you can serve me.
If you speak important things,
and not those worthless words,
then you can speak for me.
The people of Judah should change
and come back to you {Jeremiah}.
But don’t you change
and be like them. 20I will make you
strong.
Those people will think you are strong
like a wall made of bronze.
The people of Judah will fight against you.
But they will not defeat you.
They will not defeat you.
Why? Because I am with you.
I will help you and I will save you.”
This message is from the Lord.
21“I will save you
from those evil people.
Those people scare you.
But I will save you from those people.”

Manasseh Manasseh was the most evil king of Judah,
according to 2 Kings 21:1–16. He worshiped many gods.
pitchfork A tool with sharp points for throwing hay from one
place to another.
survivors People that escaped some disaster. Here this means
the Jewish people that survived the destruction of Judah and
Israel by its enemy armies.
north This refers to the army of Babylon coming from the
north
to attack the nation of Judah.

The Day of Disaster

16 The Lord’s
message came to me:
2“Jeremiah, you
must not get married.
You must not have sons or daughters in this
place.”
3The Lord says
these things about the sons
and daughters that are born in the land of
Judah. And this is what the Lord says about
the mothers and fathers of those children:
4“Those people will
die a terrible death. No
person will cry for those people. No person
will bury them. Their bodies will lie on the
ground like dung. Those people will die by an
enemy’s sword, or they will starve to death.
Their dead bodies will be food for the birds of
the sky and the wild animals of the earth.”
5So the Lord says:
“Jeremiah, don’t go into
a house where people are eating a funeral
meal. Don’t go there to cry for the dead or
show your sorrow. Don’t do those things.
Why? Because I have taken back my blessing.
I will not be kind to these people of Judah. I
will not feel sorry for them.” This message is
from the Lord.
6“Important people
and common people will
die in the land of Judah. No person will bury
those people or cry for them. No person will cut
himself or shave his head to show sorrow for
those people. 7No
person will bring food to the
people that are crying for the dead. No person
will comfort those people whose mother or
father has died. No person will offer a drink to
comfort the people that are crying for the dead.
8“Jeremiah, don’t
go into a house where the
people are having a party. Don’t go into that
house and sit down to eat and drink.
9The
Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel says
these things: ‘I will soon stop the sounds of
people having fun. I will stop the happy
sounds people make during a wedding party.
This will happen during your lifetime. I will
do these things quickly.’
10“Jeremiah, you
will tell the people of
Judah these things. And the people will ask
you, ‘Why has the Lord said these terrible
things to us? What have we done wrong?
What sin have we done against the Lord our
God?’ 11You
must say these things to those
people: ‘Terrible things will happen to you
because your ancestors* quit following me.’
This message is from the Lord. ‘They quit
following me and began to follow and serve
other gods. They worshiped those other gods.
Your ancestors left me and `quit obeying my
law. 12But
you people have sinned more than
your ancestors. You are very stubborn. And
you are doing only the things that you want to
do. You are not obeying me. You do only
what you want to do.
13So
I will throw you
out of this country. I will force you to go to a
foreign country. You will go to a land that
you and your ancestors never knew. In that
land you can serve false gods all you want to.
I will not help you or show you any favors.’
14“People make
promises and say, ‘As
surely as the Lord lives. He is the One who
brought the people of Israel out of the land of
Egypt.’ But the time is coming,” this message
is from the Lord, “when people will not say
those things. 15The
people will say something
new. They will say, ‘As surely as the Lord
lives. He is the One who brought the people of
Israel out of the northern land. He brought
them out of all the countries where he had sent
them.’ Why will the people say these things?
Because I will bring the people of Israel back
to the land that I gave to their ancestors.* 16“I will soon send
for many fishermen to
come to this land.” This message is from the
Lord. “Those fishermen will catch the people
of Judah. After that happens, I will send for
many hunters to come to this land. Those
hunters* will hunt the people of Judah on
every mountain and hill and in the cracks of
the rocks.
17I
see everything they do. The
people of Judah can’t hide from me the things
they do. Their sin is not hidden from me.
18I
will pay the people of Judah back for the bad
things they did—I will punish them two times
for every sin. I will do this because they have
made my land ‘dirty.’ They made my land
‘dirty’ with their terrible idols. I hate those
idols. But they have filled my country with
their idols.”
19Lord, you are my
strength
and my protection.
You are a safe place to run to
in time of trouble.
The nations will come to you
from all around the world.
They will say,
“Our fathers had false gods.
They worshiped those worthless idols,
but those idols did not help
them at all.”
20Can people make
real gods for themselves?
No! They can make statues,
but those statues are not really gods.
21So I will teach
those people that make
idols.
Right now I will teach them
about my power and my strength.
Then they will know that I am God.
They will know that I am the Lord.”

ancestors Literally, “fathers,” meaning a person’s parents,
grandparents, and all the people they are descended from.
fishermen … hunters This means the enemy soldiers from
Babylon.